Post navigation

This weekend someone asked if I wanted to purchase a 1964 Schwinn Jaguar Mark V that had been discovered in an attic; it had been stored there for 34 years.

I certainly gave it some thought, but decided against it for two reasons. 1. I have a rule; if it’s not my size or I can’t ride it, I can’t buy it and 2. They are selling it for an old lady, thus, I’d rather not try and get some super deal, but rather help them maximize their sales price.

So, I researched documented sales history (in real-estate you’d call this comps) and here’s what I found between 2011 and 2014. I could only find 6 sales that I could back-up. The highest sales price being $729.95, and the lowest being $300. The highest sales price is deceiving as it was an auction with free shipping. So, the next highest, without free shipping was $680. Add in actual shipping and packing and the $680 can easily exceed the $729 sale. By the way, none of the other sales offered free shipping. I’m not going to dig into what accessories or options each bike had, however, they all appeared to be in very good shape, none were rust-buckets that I could see. I also did not see an increase or decrease in prices, there was high and low sales in each year.

As you may have noticed, I collect a lot of Japanese bicycles. So, when it came time to remove the vintage Regina freewheel from the whee/Phil Wood hub that came on my 1975 Schwinn Paramount, my tool box came up blank. I didn’t have the correct freewheel removal too. What a bummer that was! Then, to test my patience just a bit more, my Amazon.com Prime membership also failed me, and it took the tool a week to get here.

I took a gamble on the tool, as my search of forums etc., didn’t come up with a definitive answer as to which freewheel removal tool I was going to need. That’s the reason for this post. So, hopefully this post will gain some traction in the search engines and you won’t have to search long to figure this out.

If only there wasn’t an entire ocean between us, I would have been on this like fly on… This is one of my grails, one that I will break my rule; it must be my size to own. This is a Nichibei Fuji Dandy. I first saw this in an early 1960’s Japan’s Bicycle Guide book and fell in love. Yes, this one is rusty and crusty, but I love the lines all over this. Dual top-tube, down-tube, and seat-tube! And, check out that chain guard for goodness sake… I guess this would be considered a vintage Fuji balloon tire, light-weight, cruiser bicycle. It is just Dandy. Enjoy the photos.

Here’s one I haven’t seen before. I saw this vintage Fuji AS listed for-sale over in Japan. My guess would be it’s a late 50’s early 60’s Gents roadster bicycle frame and fork. I really like the branded details you got back in the day. It appears even the reflector mount was engraved with the Fuji mountain logo. The sloped fork crown flows well and that bottom bracket assembly looks quite intriguing. Enjoy the photos below.

I am a collector of Japan’s Bicycle Guides and was able to pick up a very first 1951 edition of the catalog. Below I have provided a few quick snaps from my iPhone. I plan to scan the entire book as delicately as possible. The book is in good condition conisdering its age and purpose. However, the binding is becoming brittle and weak so I would like to minimize viewing the actual book as much as possible.

For those into classic ad copy and design this is a gold mine. Fantastic vintage design work throughout. I look forward to digging in a looking at every bicycle, part and ad. This is a major score of information for a collector like myself.

Worthpoint.com reports a Raleigh Burner Mk1 Pro Burner (05/28/2011). sold for $32,928. I’m here to tell everyone that is a fluke on an enormous scale, and more than likely a false bid by the original lister that went unpaid. A mint Raliegh Burner Pro would be lucky to get $500 in today’s vintage BMX market.

As a user of Worthpoint.com it goes to show you should do additional research when it seems to good to be true.

It seems I have a thing for abused and neglected vintage Fuji track bicycles. Two of the worst condition bicycles I have ever acquired are now both Fuji track bikes. The first was the 1975 Track Racer TF Sprint and now I have just welcomed a 1985 Fuji, Design Series, “Mark Gorksi“, track bike. That being said, this was the first, tall, Fuji Design Series track bike I had seen for-sale; I now restrict incoming bicycles in my collection to my size.

1985 Fuji Design Series “Mark Gorski” Track bicycle

I’d like to thank Darryl Glascock over at Eastside Cycles in Nashville for his excellent and friendly customer service. Eastside took possession and packed up the 85 Gorski for me. I’m not sure what I will do with the bicycle yet. Every square inch has a scratch… I will clean it up, regrease, ride and then decide what I will do. In my head I imagine a repaint to its original color with some nice pinstriping around the lugs etc. I’m usually not one to refinished bicycles in my collection; I’m more of a “preservationist”, however, there is a certain point at which I believe they deserve a refresh. This one could very well fall into that category.

I am very excited about this acquisition regardless of condition. These bicycles are not easy to find and I now own both Fuji Design Series road and track models in 63cm and 61cm respectively. I feel lucky.

In the May, 1983 edition of Bicycling magazine there is a test of the now vintage Mt. Fuji mountain bike (see page 139 of actual magazine or pg. 22 in the linked article below). The test is part of a long “Workshop” article all pertaining to Fat Tire bikes- yes, before they were referred to as (Vintage) Mountain bikes. The article also features the Japanese made Specialized StumpJumper Sport, Diamondback Ridge Runner (Prototype), Trek 850 (Prototype). Ritchey MountainBikes Annapurna and the MountainBikes Montari. For any vintage mountain bike enthusiast, this is an awesome early article! It breaks down every component, fitting etc.

I had been looking for a bicycle chain with a classic look for my bikes that require 1/2″ x 1/8″ chains. For a black chain with a lighter colored inner link, I thought my only choice was the super shiny black/silver Izumi, which was way too shiny. Then I found the Ventura Bicycle Chain. These look great, and not only that, they actually function great too! The black outer links and, what I would call, dark grey inner links gives it the perfect look. It’s a more dull finish as opposed to the shiny Izumi’s you see out there. The shiny just doesn’t look good on a classic bicycle to me. Lastly, I was shocked at the $8.00 price tag on Amazon.com

Fuji HAO

This vintage Fuji HAO recently popped up over on an auction website in Japan. Check out some of the extra details that make these vintage bicycles so interesting to look at.

First, look at the decorated rivets for the fender support bars. While you’re at it look at those awesome brakes and quite interesting quad-divided pedals.

This one even comes with perhaps an original top-tube cover. How cool is that?! You might also be wondering what is that device with the “FUJI” mountain engraving and bar protruding from the side (bottom left picture). This is a vintage Nichibei Fuji lock. See the next photo for better detail of one.

Vintage Fuji Locks

Here’s some greater detail of the vintage Nichibei Fuji locks. On the bottom right hand picture, the silver piece sticking out is actually the key. You release the lock by inserting and pushing this key in; it doesn’t turn. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the key before sending these off. The bar sticking out is what prevents theft by not allow the spoke to pass by it.

Now for some additional photos the HAO. I always enjoy the top-mounted fender emblems on these vintage bicycles. And the cut-out “FUJI” on the reflector mount is a nice touch.

You can occasionally find these bells for sale new-old-stock online, but they can be pricey!

Lastly, it seems the chain guards were plastic! This I do find surprising and makes me wonder what year this bicycle actually his. I should note that even some of the currently produced Japanese bicycles retain a very vintage and classic look. However, I’m quite certain this one dates back at least half a century.